The Gods of War: Terra Rising
by USSRman45
Summary: A world divided that would become united. A time that would bring out the greatness in men. A challenge that would become the victory of a people. A moment in history when heroism shaped the Earth's destiny forever. Factions updated!
1. Prologue

_**I do not own any of the Tenchi Muyo characters or anything associated with it except for those characters and ideas produced by me, the author. The events of this story take place in the OAV universe.**_

_**How swiftly Caesar had surmounted the icy Alps and in his mind conceived immense upheavals, coming war. When he reached the water of the little Rubicon, clearly to the leader through the murky night appeared a mighty image of his country in distress; grief in her face, her white hair streaming from her tower- crowned head. With tresses torn and shoulders bare, she stood before him in sighing, said: "Where further do you march? Where do you take my standards warriors? If lawfully you come if as citizens, this far only is allowed." Then trembling struck the leader's limbs, his hair grew stiff and weakness checked his progress, holding his feet at the river's edge. At last he speaks. "Oh thunderer… surveying great Rome's walls from the Tarpeian Rock. Oh Phrygian, house gods of lulus, clan and mysteries of Quirinus who was carried off to heaven. Oh, Jupiter of Latium seated in lofty Alba and hearths of Vesta. Oh, Rome, equal to the highest deity, favor my plans! Not with impious weapons do I pursue you. Here am I, Caesar, conqueror of land and sea, your own soldier everywhere now too if I am permitted. The man who makes me your enemy, it is he will be the guilty one." Then he broke the barriers of war and through the swollen river swiftly took his standards. When Caesar crossed the flood and reached the opposite bank from Hesperia's forbidden fields, he took his stand and said: "Here I abandoned peace and desecrated law. Fortune, it is you I follow. Farewell to treaties, from now on war is our judge." Hail Caesar. We who are about to die salute you.**_

_**-Chronicle from Marcus Lucanus on Julius Caesar's crossing of the River Rubicon.**_

-**EARTH YEAR 5743 AU-  
-PLANET ARMAGEDDON-**

The setting sun lit up the surface of Armageddon and made the Governor's Palace and artificial sea glisten and glitter, but made the distant ash wastes look as dead as ever until night fell. Soon the wastes would light up for thousands of miles as an iridescent blue, created from the apocalyptic war that raged here over two centuries ago. Planetary Governor Uriel Severus of the Terran Empire stood out upon his balcony that overlooked the New Aegean Sea trying to admire the view as he waited for his guest to arrive, but it only served as a reminder of past horrors. The governor heard a knock at his chamber door and turned to see one of his aids enter.

"My lord, Professor Cadmos of the Galaxy Academy has just arrived," said the aid.

Severus nodded and in reply said, "Thank you Cleitus. Please show him in."

"Aye my lord," replied Cleitus and turned to the pale man waiting patiently behind him flanked by two palace guards on either side of him. With a gesture of his hand Cleitus waved for the man to enter. Professor Cadmos gave him his thanks and entered the chamber, the door closing behind him.

Professor Cadmos and his escorts made their way over to the balcony where the governor looked on into the distance. By now the sun had set and the distant wastes were glowing signature iridescent blue that dominated the landscape. Cadmos joined Governor Severus on the balcony in looking at this man-made wonder and for a while they just stood and looked. Cadmos could only look on in wonder and amazement. Two centuries ago this planet had been a luscious, vibrant world. Now most of it was nothing more than a giant, radioactive wasteland. Still, the local inhabitants had refused to leave their homes and continued to try and re-cultivate their obliterated world. The Terran government had stepped in as well after the war had ended and since then had worked to atone for its sins. Most had deemed it impossible, but progress could be seen. The vast artificial ocean below was proof of that.

"It's quite beautiful governor," commented Cadmos.

"And just as deadly my friend," replied the governor. "Those wastes can kill a man in a week if he's unprotected."

"I thought the Emperor's terraforming project was going well here on Armageddon? Are the artificial oceans just as deadly?" asked Cadmos as he gave the governor a look of doubt. The governor replied reassuringly, "The technology of the Divisio de Scientia has ensured that the New Aegean Sea as well as all other bodies of water and developing environments on this planet are quite free of the planet's massive radioactive effects. But enough of that, let's go inside shall we?" As the two men then ventured inside and closed the balcony door behind them, Cadmos continued their conversation.

"And where is the Emperor? Last I heard he was here on Armageddon to check on the progress of the terraforming project.  
"He and Lady Washu of Jurai have returned to Terra for the anniversary of the Armageddon War and left prior to your arrival." Cadmos sighed and replied, "That's unfortunate; I had hoped to meet him in person."

After making their way into the study, Governor Severus offered Professor Cadmos a seat in a leather chair that sat before a roaring fire while the two guards stood outside the doorway. The governor then made his way over to a large oak table on which sat a number of crystal decanters that contained a smörgåsbord of spirits. He chose one that contained an amber spirit and opened it and put his nose to it, taking in the aged smell of amasec. As he grabbed two glasses and began to fill them, Cadmos amused himself by looking around the study. It was a far cry from the rest of the Governor's Palace which was mostly of white marble and granite while as most of this study was predominantly wood. As he continued to survey his surroundings a large, old oil painting on the wall caught his attention. The painting portrayed a series of warriors encased in black, blood stained armor charging gallantly towards a defensive wall being desperately held by Juraian soldiers. The light from the sun was piercing through the smoke from the battle and lit up the warriors in black as if they were divine. At the head of their charge was a large, magnificent crimson standard emblazoned with gold. At the center was an eagle surrounded by a wreath of olive leaves and perched on a branch and below were large and letters that read _SPQR._The standard was lit up by the light of the sun as well and was being carried by a gravely wounded, white haired man who held it high for all to see. Leading them on at the front with the standard bearer was who Cadmos presumed to be the leader. The man brandished an ornate sword that seemed to have a white flame writhing around it and the blade was brighter than any sun. He stood tall on the defensive wall and pointed the weapon towards the enemy defenders and looking back urged his men to surge ever onward into the wall of enemy fire. Behind the Juraian defenders stood Tenju, a ginormous tree that served as the Imperial Palace for the Royal Family of Jurai. The painting was a scene of absolute chaos, desperation and death and at the same time was also a beautiful depiction of glory, determination and sacrifice. As Cadmos continued to observe the painting it was the standard in this work of art that caught his attention among all other things. There was something so familiar about it. As he continued to think on this he finally recalled reading a description of the standard in an eye-witness account during his research of the Immortals and the Seven Days War. He was now sure that this man he had come to see was an original survivor of this conflict, though most people would dismiss this notion as being ludicrous. The battle portrayed in the painting took place almost six millennia ago. The chance that the governor of this planet was an original survivor was almost impossible. There could be thousands of other people in the galaxy that could bare the same name as this man and just as well any one of them could be the man Cadmos has so desperately sought after. No, he was sure of it. This is the man Cadmos has sought after for so long.

"The Battle of Heavens' Tree," said a voice from behind.

Cadmos turned his gaze to Severus who handed him a glass of the amber spirit and took his seat and turned his gaze to the antique painting. Cadmos gave his thanks and took a drink of the liquor; it had a strong taste and burned all the way down his throat. Severus followed suit and took a drink of the liquor as well taking in its full flavor.

"Are you familiar with it professor?"

"Oh yes, very much so. That's why I' am here."

"And you are with the Historical Department of the Galaxy Academy, correct?"

"That is correct, governor," replied Cadmos.

"Then tell me what you know of it if you would."

"Very well," said Cadmos confidently. "The Battle of Heavens' Tree was the last ditch effort for the attacking Terran forces to secure their independence from the Juraian Empire in the Seven Days War. The charge portrayed in the painting succeeded in penetrating the palace's outer defenses, but unfortunately the Immortals were unable to penetrate the palace itself. There are many questions I need answered and only you can answer them... Captain Nicolai Karzanovich.

Severus stopped drinking and looked at the professor with a wide-eyed look for a few moments. He then set his glass down on the small, oak table that sat between the two men's chair and stood up. Cadmos watched his as he walked over to the fire place. Lacing his hands together behind his back the governor walked to the front of the fireplace and stopped.

"I'll not ask how you came to know this information professor," the governor said coldly.

"I have my ways sir."

"By knowing this fact I could have you locked up for the rest of your life; even executed. You were aware of these risks I assume?"

"I was," Cadmos replied simply.

"And yet you still came, knowing what the consequences might be?"

"Yes."

For a time the governor continued to look into the fire as thoughts and decisions raced through his mind.

"Guards!" he said aloud. The two men came rushing in and snapped to attention.

Cadmos began to fear that he would have to face the consequences of his actions. If that was the case then there would be no power in the entire universe that could help him now.

"Yes sir?" asked one of the guards.

"Leave us and make sure that we are not disturbed." The guard hammered his fist to his chest and bowed.

"As you wish my lord," replied the bowing guard and along with his counterpart left the room. Before he spoke Karzanovich waited until he heard his chamber door close to make sure they were alone.

"It's said that they were the greatest fighting force in the history of all mankind," Karzanovich started to say. "It is true that the forces that assaulted Jurai are possibly considered to be the greatest fighting force in history, but it was the Immortals who were responsible for our many victories. Without them we wouldn't have even gotten within a thousand light years of the Jurai system, let alone survived the journey in space."

"My research says that..."

"Your research is based on relatively few facts my friend. Your books documented a mostly false history, the true story has never been fully told. Time has a way of smudging fact over long periods."

"Then tell me, who were the Immortals really?" Cadmos asked curiously.

"They were once the protectors and rulers of an ancient empire on Terra for over a thousand years. When their mighty empire fell, their sense of purpose was lost and they scattered across to the four corners of the earth." Karzanovich then made his way over to the oil painting, reaching out with his hand and placed it on the two men in the center of the painting. "It was Durantis and Vincere who nearly led us to victory on Jurai after we were betrayed," said Karzanovich as he turned around to face the professor.

"You wish to know who the Immortals are? Then I shall tell you _their _story," said Karzanovich as he placed his hand back on the two men in the painting. "I shall tell you about the gods of war."


	2. Chapter 1

- **EARTH YEAR 2003 BU-**  
-**5740 YEARS EARLIER-**

The cold winter had come to the port city of Nagasaki and the dry season was starting to set in, but the climate was none the less frigid. On the slick road the worn-out honcho drove slowly and cautiously as not to skid if it hit a patch of black ice. As the passenger in the back seat eyed the scenes of the city he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a flask, opened it and downed an ample amount of whiskey. He found the city to be a very dreary place, especially with this weather. After another half-hour of travel the honcho came to a stop in front of Nagasaki Station. Durantis paid the driver, exited the vehicle and strolled into the station. As he came through the entrance he immediately began spotting for a cell phone vendor if one even exists in this station at all, but if not he would have to tactically acquire one. Luckily he found one near the exit of a public restroom and made his way towards the vendor. He paid the merchant in cash for a prepaid phone and immediately took it out of its package and went off to find a secluded area, dialing the number he had memorized and put the phone up to his ear.  
"I'm inside the station," said Durantis.  
"You will meet with your contact in the locker storage area in the south wing of the station. He will be dressed in a red weather coat and a white cap. Upon completion of payment you will receive further instructions from your contact."  
The line disconnected and Durantis headed down through the station through the crowds towards his destination. He spotted his contact sitting on a bench in front of the locker area and took a seat beside him. The man said nothing; he just kept looking straight ahead of him.  
"And he stole the gift of fire and gave it unto man," he said simply.  
"Prometheus," replied Durantis.  
Durantis reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a thick, white envelope and slid it to the man across the bench who then did likewise with a key and a train ticket. The man opened the envelope and counted the bills inside.  
"Locker thirty-six, platform two, thirty minutes," he said as he got up while also stuffing the envelope into his coat pocket. He then strolled away, disappearing into the sea of people. Durantis arose from the bench and walked over to the designated locker and opened it to reveal a black bag. After opening the bag and determining everything was in order he closed the locker and with the bag in his hand set off for platform two; the train to Tokyo.

On the train Durantis sat quietly and looked out the window at the passing scenery. So far everything was going well, but there were still many things that could go wrong. Smuggling himself into the country was easy enough; getting the required materials for the operation was a completely different matter. Durantis himself had acquired but a small portion of the tools he and his comrades would need. The bag he had procured at the station included cell phones, fake IDs and passports as well many forms of information they would need to eliminate their target, much of which he had to rely on outside sources to obtain. He relied on the others to obtain weapons, demolitions, transportation and a base of operations in which to finalize the attack plan. The other problem was avoiding the authorities and not attracting attention to themselves which in this country was hard enough without being foreigners. Certain government organizations were also currently hunting him for what they called "terrorist activities" and "war crimes," the CIA in particular. He had no doubt they were tracking him even now, possibly even aboard this very train, but he had always managed to give them the slip. His KGB training from the Cold War days had proven invaluable over the years; though he has had to keep up with the ever changing worlds of war and espionage, it seemed to be working for him so far. After all he was still alive, for now. In the back of his mind however, Durantis knew that some time it was all going to end. Whether it's this mission or the next he knew one day he would be killed, but as long as it was a good death he didn't give a damn. For now, however he lived and would stay alive until his work was done; his revenge complete.  
_"Cassius…"_ thought Durantis. A fire began to grow in his soul; feeding his ever growing fury and hatred for this traitor. He clenched his fists tight as he sat in his chair and his knuckles began to turn white. Pure hatred and malice flowed into every corner of his mind. The only thing Durante could think of was having the traitor on his knees as he prepared to take his head. Durantis then noticed the other passengers were looking at him with worry and saw one of the attendants approach him.  
"Sir, are you alright?" she asked. Durantis looked up blankly at the attendant.  
"Sir, are you ok? You look tense." Durantis slowly regained control of his breathing; taking slow, steady breaths and began to relax himself.  
"I'm fine," he said. "Just motion sickness, that's all."  
"Can I get you anything?"  
"No, I'm fine. Thank you."  
The attendant smiled, bowed and went on about her business.  
_"Dammit," _thought Durantis. _"I'm drawing far too much attention to myself. I've got to stay calm and keep __focused on the task at hand."_  
A few rows behind Durante sat a caucasian man dressed in casual winter clothing keeping an ever watchful on Durante. Protruding out from the collar of his coat were a small, unnoticeable microphone and an earpiece in which to receive instructions from his superiors.  
"This is Mobile One; I've got the target in sight. Shall I intercept?" he said in a low tone voice into the microphone.  
"Negative Mobile One, stand by for now," responded the man on the other line.  
"Grab Team B has detained target's contact at Nagasaki Station; Grab Team C will intercept target at Shinjuku Station. Continue your surveillance until further instructions are provided."  
"Understood, Mobile One out."  
Some time later the train began pulling into Shinjuku Station. Durantis got to his feet and began making his way off the train into the station. It was at this point he noticed three men had been following him since he exited the train.  
_"Damn, they're already on me,"_ thought Durantis.  
As he walked through the station he looked for a secluded spot to rid himself of the agents. He saw an eatery that was parallel with an exit and entered. He then went through the eatery's back door and locked it behind him. As he ran down the hallway he saw there was more than two exits and knew they wouldn't come through just the one he saw earlier. He ran to a corner by the exit door, dropped his bag and waited. As soon as the first agent entered and rounded the corner Durantis grabbed him and threw him up against a wall, punching him in the back of the head with great strength and let him fall to the floor unconscious. Durante quickly turned around to see an agent come through one of the other doors. Fortunately he was not armed and Durantis slammed his left elbow into his chest and delivered a quick jab to his groin. Another agent came in through the door opposite of him with his sidearm drawn. Durantis quickly grabbed the agent's shooting arm and using it as leverage slammed him into the other agent he had just elbowed to knock him away. He then delivered a sweep and dropped the armed man onto his back and kicked him in the head. The other agent had taken out a sedative and tried thrusting it into Durantis' side. Durantis dodged the attack, grabbed and disarmed him. He then performed a hip-toss and cast the man onto the floor. Durantis picked up the side-arm from off the floor and pistol-whipped the downed agent, knocking him out and began to search him. He found a CIA identification card.  
"These guys are persistent," Durantis said to himself as he relieved the agent of his sidearm and ammunition. He then noticed the agent's earpiece and decided to listen in on the CIA's game plan.

In an operations room back at the CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia, Section Chief Edgar Stiles continued to observe the developing disaster.  
"Sir we've just lost contact with Grab Team C," said one of the staff members.  
"Tell Mobile One to relocate the subject, now!" yelled Stiles.  
"Mobile Two has located Grab Team C. They're down sir!" yelled another staff member. The section chief's head was pounding. In five minutes an operation had gone from smooth sailing to a flaming car wreck. He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the beads of sweat from his temple.  
"We've just lost all communication with Mobile One," said another staff member.  
"God dammit! Get me all of the CCTV cameras' eyes on screen!" yelled Stiles.  
"On it now sir."  
"How's it going Stiles?" said a voice from behind. Stiles turned around to see Deputy Director Vincent Kramer, his superior. The man wore a midnight blue suit complete with a red tie and stood a little taller than Stiles, but was easily recognizable by his signature white hair which was the blunt of many jokes. The man however was considered a rising star in the agency having advanced to Deputy Director in only ten years and only his young age had prevented him from taking the CIA Director's chair. Still Stiles was very jealous of Kramer's position considering he was twice his age, but he respected the man none the less.  
"We've lost the subject sir," said Stiles respectfully.  
"You lost him or he jumped your men again?"  
"Both unfortunately."  
"How many times have I told you Stiles? Never judge an operation from an armchair. We've tracked the man longer than any other foreign agency; you should be able to predict his movements by now. Don't just act, think."  
"Yes sir," said Stiles with a hint of aggression in his voice.  
"We're online now sir," said a staff member.  
Stiles turned to see the screens in front of him come alive with streaming video. Every closed circuit camera in the train station was now under their control.  
"Where the hell is he people? We cannot afford to lose this guy." Stiles watched as thirty pairs of eyes frantically searched their monitor's for their lost subject.  
"Found him sir! He's heading toward the eastern exit."  
"Bring all the other teams behind him and send Grab Teams A, B and D to the eastern exit! This son of a bitch is not getting away from us this time!"

Durantis walked out of the train station's eastern exit and began scanning for surveillance teams as he got onto the side-walk. He suddenly heard tires screeching and looked to see a black Honda Civic pull up to the curb in front of him. Three agents emerged from the vehicle and began looking around; trying to locate him through the massive crowds. Durantis turned his head back and starting walking at a faster pace, hoping to slip by them. Two more black Hondas pulled up just ahead of him and discharged their passengers; more agents. As one of the agents scanned the area he made eye contact with Durantis. He knew he'd been spotted and Durante sprinted across the street towards a shopping center. He was getting desperate now, they'd never been so organized before. Durante guessed they'd learned from past mistakes and had pulled out all the stops. They weren't going to stop until they had him in custody or he was dead.  
He ran through the shopping center's entrance knocking people out of the way with the agents' right behind him and sprinted up the escalators to make his way up to the connecting parking structure via the roof. He came bursting through the roof door and found a suitable vehicle to commandeer. As he reached the car's door he heard a shout and turned around to see the agents coming up right behind him. Durante pulled out the sidearm he had taken off the other agent and fired three shots in their direction to keep their heads' down. Using the pistol he smashed the car window, unlocked the door and took a seat; bending down to rip out the wires from underneath the steering wheel. Then as fast as he possibly could he began to attempt to hot-wire the vehicle and could hear the engine's starter trying to turn over as he touched the two wires together. The two agents' he had fired at had run up and had taken cover behind the vehicle parked in front of Durantis. One of the agents chanced a glance and seeing an opportunity fired off a shot at Durantis' head. The bullet passed through the windshield and grazed the side of Durante's head who then put his head down. A moment later he finally got the vehicle to start. He put it into drive and slammed his foot on the accelerator; slamming into the car in front of him which in turn ran into the two agents behind it. He then put the car into reverse and sped out of the parking spot only to see one of the black Hondas speeding towards him. Durantis kept the vehicle in reverse and kept driving until an agent from the other car began firing at him. Durantis put his head down and slapped down the rear-view mirror to see where he was driving. All he saw was the ever faster approaching wall. He sped the car towards the vehicle parked parrallel to the wall and slammed into it which gave his car a jump and sent him flying off the roof; crashing onto the vehicles below, causing the car to tumble and turn it upside down. Durantis kicked out the back window and grabbing his bag he clambered out of the wreck bruised and bloody. Painfully he drew out his pistol and made his way back into the parking structure to acquire another vehicle.  
_"So much for not drawing attention to myself,"_ thought Durantis. _"But I'm not going to let these bastards stop me. I'm too close!"_  
As he limped his way inside the parking structure the same black Honda from the roof sped around the corner with the same agent hanging out the passenger window firing his sidearm at Durante, who had taken cover. Durantis waited until the car came close and rose up from cover, firing a series of shots into the windshield which killed the driver and occupant. Durantis watched the vehicle reel out of control and slam into a series of parked cars. He ran up to the vehicle and opened the driver door. As he opened it an agent's lifeless body fell out with his dead eyes staring up at him. Durantis grabbed the corpse and without a second thought cast it out of the way. He slammed the door shut and popped the car into reverse and sped out from the other cars as other agents from the roof came running behind him firing their weapons. As he drove he opened the passenger door and shoved the other body out of the vehicle . He then braked and put it into drive. Durante slammed on the accelerator and headed for the lower levels of the structure. As he finally came to the first level he saw Prefectural Police units had set up a barrier to block his escape.  
_"Damn, they've notified the local police. They're certainly getting desperate to stop me it seems." _Durantis couldn't help but laugh to himself.  
_"This is getting interesting now. They may actually succeed this time."  
_Durantis hit the brakes and turned the wheel causing the vehicle to do a 180 degree turn. He then put the vehicle back into reverse and accelerated towards the police units. The car tore through the barrier, causing Durantis to fly back from the force of the crash. He quickly regained himself and put the car into drive and drove off from the scene with multiple pursuers right behind him.

In the operations room back at Langley the mood was solemn and quiet as Stiles could only hold back his anger. The operation had spiraled out of control with six of his men hospitalized and in critical condition with another two in body bags. After the debacle at the train station and the parking structure Kramer had all the grab teams withdrawn and allowed only surveillance teams to tail the fleeing subject who was currently also being pursued by the Prefectural Police.  
"I'm sorry about the loss of your men Stiles, but they did not have orders to fire on the target. Consider ourselves lucky we didn't lose more," said Kramer. "But this was also to be expected. He's very close to his target now and will become more aggressive. For now the best thing we can do is keep on after him. Also with the aid of the Japanese authorities and their other agencies are lending we will capture him."  
"I'd rather see him dead! You should've let me send the assets after him."  
"If I had authorized to send in the assets all we would have ended up with are more corpses. You don't know this man like I do Stiles; he will stop it nothing to kill his target."  
"And why should we care what happens to the CEO of some weapons manufacturer?"  
"Because he's a viable asset to this country and our agency, that's why. He's also the reason we we're able to draw Ivanov out into the open by allowing Herrmann's whereabouts to become know to him and until I say otherwise we do things my way, understand?"  
Stiles clenched his fist in anger as Kramer turned and walked away; disappearing down the hallway. Stiles quietly calmed himself and turned his attention back to the situation at hand. As Kramer walked down the hall to make his report to the Director, his mind was swimming with thoughts.  
_"So Durantis even after all these centuries you still haven't been able to let go of the past. Part of me wants you to succeed, but my duty is to stop you at all costs. Too many innocents have died getting in the way of your revenge, but I will stop you…brother."_

Return t


	3. GOW Characters

GODS OF WAR -AUTHOR'S CHARACTERS

_**Durantis**_- Durantis was born in the city of Rome in the year 753 BC during its founding. His complete name is_ Durantis Aeneas Romulus filius Mars nepos tribu Romanus Fortis, domo Roma_. Translated from Latin ( in order as presented) this means his personal name is Durantis which means " to endure." He belongs to the _gens _orfamily line of Aeneas, a Trojan prince who fled Troy after it fell to the Greeks and is of the sub family Romulus and is the grandson of Mars, the Roman god of war. He is from the Roman tribe. His non-personal name or nickname is Fortis which means " mighty, firm, steadfast, brave or courageous" and hails from or resides in the city of Rome. However this complete name will hardly ever be used for an introduction or anything other than a monument or his burial ground. Durantis is over 2800 years old and is an Immortal of which there were some 8000 of. The legend is the founder of Rome, Romulus looked to his father Mars to give unto Rome mighty sons in which to defend and fight for the city. And so the first sons of Rome were born with everlasting life and the abilities needed to become the ultimate warriors. As to date there are less than 2000 left after centuries of fighting enemies and with themselves. At the age of 7 he killed his first man, his father who in a drunken rage had beaten Durantis' mother to death for resisting his sexual advances. Durantis and his two brothers were taken in by a Senator named Tiberius who taught them politics. At 15 Durantis and his two brothers entered into the Roman Army and never looked back, taking a military education over a political one. After only a few years of study he proved his genius as a military commander and a warrior. He then went on to organize the Immortals into their own legion and gave put them through the same training he went through. He then used them to carve out an empire and went on to conquer a majority of the world, taking many different names to hide his identity over the centuries. Durantis fought and bled for Rome for over a thousand years until its fall in 476AD. When this happened Durantis became a broken man and was driven out of his city by the barbarians and the newly formed Christian Church as were the other Immortals. Banished for life from his city he'd spend the next 1700 years wandering the Earth from one battlefield to the next, living out his life as mercenary for hire as he failed at living a normal life. One of the most traumatic impacts on life and one that drove him to the brink of his sanity was the Battle of Stalingrad where he spent over 180 days in continuous combat in the most bloody and savage warfare ever seen. It was this battle and many others over the centuries that honed him into a hardened combat veteran and commander, few if any could defeat him on the field and those that did gained his eternal respect and he would learn as much as could from them. He seldom cares about the troubles of others and will kill anyone who gets in his way without a flinch or a second thought. Few people are involved with him personally or understand his eternal rage other than other Immortals or close friends. Those that try to understand him usually fail and this usually earns them his hatred and impatience, especially those who try compare their loss to his. Upon first impression his personality can be described as being compared to a cold stone. He is usually serious and quiet unless he something to say and is almost never seen smiling or even displaying laughter though that is to say he hasn't been seen doing so, mostly with his brother Vincere. Many believe the long millennia of warfare have taken their toll on his spirit and left him virtually emotionless though this is hardly the case. Once he is accustomed to being around someone he is familiar with or trusts he will open up or come out of his shell if you will.

Many might argue why he didn't simply live a normal life. From owning a business or being a farmer the fact is he is virtually a failure at trying to live such a life and has proven unable to function in such a way, he has tried many times. The other reason being he enjoys what he does too much. Call it bloodlust or insanity he enjoys battle to the point it's like an addictive substance. He tries to get away but is eventually drawn back to the battlefield whether for personal reasons or the pure thrill and excitement he receives from engaging in a battle. Many accuse him of enjoying the actual act of killing though he denies this; the Battle of Stalingrad being key evidence to support this as you will come to see.

His military career can be considered to be very successful considering his ancient country of Rome had conquered half the known world and defeated three other great regional powers that contested against her. ( Gaul, Greece and Carthage.) He is fiercely loyal to the Earth in later years and some say fanatically loyal to Rome and would do anything to secure his city from harm as are the other Immortals. A prime example of this is how they "convinced" certain leaders to declare Rome an open city during the Second World War and saved the city from further allied bombing. He has been apart of many armies over the years from the Army of Northern Virginia to the Red Army of the USSR where he had the most noticeable recent success. He rose to the rank of Major General during the Great Patriotic War (WW2) and was nominated for Hero of the Soviet Union six times four of which he received. He later was involved in the Cold War and performed numerous espionage missions for the KGB and was largely involved in the make-up of the training regime of Spetsnaz, the Soviet's special forces.

However impressive his abilities are Durantis is not perfect. He suffers from severe PTSD and barely sleeps, usually no more than a few hours. If one were to enter his dreams they would be driven insane. He is an alcoholic and chain-smoker and for a time was an avid narcotics user before it severely affected his performance in combat. He has also had some suicide attempts but lacks the resolve and ability to take his own life, waiting instead to die in combat with honor or until he kills Cassius for betraying Rome to the barbarians. In all around the time he meets the Tenchi clan he is an absolute mess and at an all time low in his life.


	4. GOW Factions

**United Nations of Earth-** The United Nations of Earth is not a collection of star systems, but rather a confederation of independent nations on a planet called Earth, located in the distant Orion Spiral Arm of the Milky Way. It was at first conspired as a means of countering the growing threat from the Shank Pirates and their allies after they attacked the Earth Exploration Fleet while it was on route to the Jurai homeworld for a peaceful meeting between the two civilizations. After a surprise attack on the UNSDF ( United Nations Self Defense Forces) the plan was immediately put into action and ending with the Terrans declaring war on the Shank Pirate Guild and their allies.

The Earth is completely isolated from any other civilization, this backwater planet was first discovered 150,000 years ago and added into Jurai's registry of planets by the first emperor of Jurai's sister, Masaki. Some 1000 years ago the Jurai rediscovered this ancient entry in its records and saw it could be a promising new colony. Upon first investigation it was discovered that the lone planet was inhabited by a developing human civilization and was automatically prohibited from becoming a colony, instead to be watched over and protected from outside interference as the Terrans continued to develop. (The people of Earth are completely unaware of the fact they are in a special protection zone of the Jurai Empire.) The Terrans developed slowly much like any other society with many nations rising and falling over the millennia.

It was within the last century that the Jurai took an interest in the planet when it was noticed a significant jump in technology had occurred. In a hundred years the Terrans had gone from horses and carts to computers and space travel and the growth wasn't stopping, their mastery of technology continuing to rise. Washu Hakubi, a current occupant of the planet noticed the growth as well while personally living on the backwater planet. She herself stated that, " In my years living on the Earth I have observed that the Terrans are capable of reaching great heights of creativity, but also capable of extreme acts of violence." The Terrans are noted for being an extremely aggressive and violent civilization, using even the most menial situations to make war on one another. The planet has been considered to be in a constant state of conflict since the Jurai re-discovered it, with two world wars in the last century alone resulting in the deaths of hundreds of millions. In the mid-last century the earth also came close to nuclear annihilation during the Cuban Missile Crisis which was barely diverted. The Jurai consider the Terrans to be the most violent, aggressive and _barbaric_ civilization they've come across. The existence of the Jurai Empire is known only by the highest officials of the UN and select countries who maintain contact with the intergalactic empire. Unknown however to the Jurai is the fact that the Terrans are in possession of highly advanced space travel technology recovered from an ancient crash site discovered in the Antarctic during the early 1900's by polar expeditions. Where as the Jurai possess a network of known worm holes and light speed to travel vast distances, the drive of the alien ship recovered by the Terrans is far more advanced, possessing the ability to _create _worm holes anywhere in space time using an artificially created black-hole, the Terrans call it a Gravity Drive. While the last century gave the Terrans time to understand how the technology works, it is nearly impossible for them to recreate it. It was then decided to contact Washu Hakubi for help to help finish reverse-engineering the Gravity Drive under a veil of great secrecy, enabling the Terrans to manufacture the drive on their own. After much effort to convince her to help, she agreed to assist them on the condition it be for the aid of peaceful purposes, such as to colonize new worlds to help stem the overpopulation of the Earth. Hence she refused to help develop weapons technology or any form of technology that might be used for hostilities. This was done under a great veil of secrecy as to not alert the Juraian Empire. However Washu still unknowingly set the stage for the Earth to rise to become the great galactic super-power of the far future.

The product of this reverse-engineering was two ships named the _Iliad _and the _Odyssey. _However while these ships were the result of the reverse-engineering the _Aenied _was by far the Terrans greatest achievement. The vessel was in fact the original alien craft that crashed landed in the Antarctic and had been rebuilt from the ground up with the original Gravity Drive installed. The moment it was completed every other ship in the galaxy was rendered obsolete. Though it's weapons systems and standard propulsion system is not as advanced as other races the gravity drive itself far outpaces anything any other civilization possess. This ship would go on to be the flagship of the UNE Navy and a symbol of Terran technology and power. When it was eventually found out that the Terrans possessed such technology many of the greater nations held a great disdain and jealousy towards the young civilization of Earth. A disdain that eventually would become a point of conflict.

_****__****_

**The Jurai Empire-** One of the oldest and dominant powers in the galaxy, the Jurai Empire was founded by a former pirate who encountered the giant, sleeping form of the goddess Tsunami on the planet Jurai. Detecting traces of what she was looking for, Tsunami made a pact with this man to protect him and his descendants. As her giant body had already begun to turn into a tree, she completed the process and her physical form became the giant tree Tenju which became the Royal Palace for Jurai's Royal Houses. This was how the Jurai Empire was founded. The Jurai's culture can be considered to one of a perfect union between man and nature while as most other species rely on machines. However these species have learned the folly of relying solely on machines and attempt to maintain a balance with nature and not distance themselves to far from it such as the Seniwans. Terrans seem to be the exact opposite and have learned to embrace technology and have virtually abandoned nature. This becomes clearly evident in the far future where the Terrans have achieved a perfect union of man and machine in all aspects of their culture. The Jurai are feared throughout the galaxy for their superhuman strength, so much so that even a GP officer equipped with nanomachines isn't even considered a threat to a Juraian civilian, so it is advisable to engage them from range and avoid all close quarters combat if possible. The Jurai are most infamous for their "tree ships", the ships of the Holy Fleets. Each one of these ships is powered by a sentient tree that has a direct link to Tsunami's power through pseudo space.

The sentient tree itself powers the whole ship from simple luxuries to weapon systems. The tree ships of the Jurai are organized by seed generations, Sasami's ship the _Tsunami _is the zero generation. The first generations are by far the most powerful (_other than the zero generation_) and only a few exist, as of now only the Juraian Emperor Azusa has a first generation ship in service. The second and third generations are next in line in terms of power, each being able to hold their own in the line of battle. However these first three generations of ships are the only ones capable of generating Light-Hawk-Wings on their own. Fourth generations and lower require additional ships present to generate them thus making them far more vulnerable. Another disadvantage of these tree ships are they can't be mass-produced in vast number as they require more time to _grow. _Juraian ships cannot be manufactured, they are grown and thus the Jurai are constantly looking for ways to bypass this.

Jurain naval tactics are at the top of their game, but in terms of groundside tactics they are seriously lacking as are most space faring nations when compared to average Terran armies. Terrans have vast experience in this regard and their tactics far outpace anyone else using fast, hard-hitting fire and maneuver and Blitzkrieg strategies. The wars that plagued their homeworld are unimaginable in the minds of most people. One example would be the Battle of Stalingrad, a battle that lasted over 180 days of constant combat in the most grueling conditions and result in the deaths of over 2.5million people. In this regard Terrans make excellent shock troops. Meanwhile Juraian infantry tactics have not passed beyond those used on Earth from the sixteenth to late nineteenth centuries having their soldiers stand shoulder to shoulder in line of battle formations and unleash massive volleys of high-impact plasma and laser weapons coupled with massed artillery and overwhelming numbers. They also use large arrays to create shields to advance with their infantry lines, making it highly inadvisable to engage them in open fields or areas. There are many reasons for this lack of modern military tactics however. One is there has been no full scale war in the galaxy for over 40,000 years. Second is most conflicts are decided in space between enemy fleets and rarely turn into ground wars. If there are no fleets to defend your worlds the war is already lost, thus most nations concentrate on their naval fleets more than their armies.

**Seniwa and the Galactic Union-** ( Thanks to other members I have found information on these other factions that have evaded me for so long, thanks for the help!) The Galactic Union is basically like the United Nations, composed of various nations, of which Seniwa is the largest and is considered second to none against the Jurai Empire. Thus, in actuality, much of the Galaxy Police and Galaxy Army (the law enforcement and military arm, respectively) is actually composed of Seniwa's forces. That is why the influence of the Kuramitsu family (Mihoshi's family) is so great within the Galaxy Police and Galaxy Army. Jurai also participates/cooperates with the GA and GP, particularly in anti-pirate actions. However Jurai does not fully trust the GA/GP, making it a point to prevent any other nation from gaining possession of an Imperial Tree of Jurai and from the fact that Jurai and Seniwa were bitter rivals locked in a cold war twenty millennia ago  
around the time Washu was found on Kanemitsu. A core part of the Galactic Union is the Galaxy Academy which is the old Imperial Academy of the Jurai Empire, but was made an independent and neutral place of learning by Washu Hakubi and Akara Naja. This allowed for many nations to come into contact with each other and exchange ideas freely. This is largely believed to be the origin of the Galactic Union, a simple idea. ****

The Nation And Religion of Airai-

Airai is a planet with the greatest concentration of precursor artifacts. By studying them, they have extremely advanced technology that makes them one of the greatest nations. Additionally, they are aware of the "Three Lives", the Choushin. Airai is also the center of the largest religion in the galaxy and while they have powerful religious leaders, they are seeking a 'true god'. They believe that Tsunami is one of the three great goddesses and are convinced that Jurai is selfishly keeping her to themselves. The Airaians thus plan to gain access to and 'acquire' Tsunami.

The usage of overt force is not their chief method in this undertaking. Instead, they use diplomatic and undercover methods. For example, Airi, the daughter of their leader, was to marry a member of the House Amaki of Jurai. By doing so, they hoped to someday have a Airaian on the throne of Jurai. Instead, Airi had a relationship with Yosho and broke off the engagement to the man from House Amaki.

This nation's religion had spread all over the galaxy and the number of its members surpasses the population of the largest country and is the largest religion in the galaxy. Before one million years ago, it was only one of the religions of a single country. However, a discovery had changed the situation and the number of its members exploded in no time.  
The discovery was related to relics which existed on the planets all over the galaxy. (Earth however has no such relics). Each relic was related to some religion that was made by outsiders of an ancient civilization. From these relics a religion was renewed.

After the Galaxy Academy was founded, many countries started to communicate with each other and resulting from this, the researchers of the academy discovered that all of these relics, existing on each planets, were a common one. Though there was one question left, 'Who had built these relics?' Of course this question was not only for the researchers but also for the natives of each planets. They started to announce that they were the origin of this original religion. As the time passed, this debate was amplified and sometimes war began between them. 1000 years later, a research team lead by Washu Hakubi found the roots of these relics on the planet Airai. All the religious scriptures derived from the relics were all related to the religion "Airai". For this reason, this religion spread all over the galaxy in no time.

Another important fact is the relationship between Airai and Jurai. In almost all the great powers in the galaxy an outpost of Airai exists. Of course on Jurai the people had the freedom to choose which religion you believed in and as a empire of thousands of worlds, there were many different religions in the Jurai Empire when it first started. However, in the present, all of those religions have disappeared and only a few were left as a part of customs. This included the largest religion Airai as well even though the religion was non-existent on Jurai.  
There were reasons for this however. Jurai was located far from Airai, so scarcely any relics existed in their home territory. The main reason being the Royal Trees born from the goddess Tsunami.  
The formless God of Airai and an existing Goddess of Jurai was a natural conflict between the two nations and so it was natural that Jurai would not accept the religion of Airai nor vice versa. The Juraians however do not genuinely see Tsunami as a god to be worshipped, though they certainly regard her with a great deal of awe and respect. This is due to the contractual relationship that Tsunami has with Jurai . Thus, they have a partnership, rather than a religious connection as widely believed. The partnering process involving the Royal Trees, offspring of the original Royal Tree (Tsunami-no-ki), also contributes to this viewpoint.  
However, the definition of God for these civilizations is different than that which the Terrans such as Tenchi believe in. Terrans believe in a formless all knowing and forgiving being commonly referred to as God or Jehovah even though there are many other religions on their planet that have a similar outline of a being or spirit. The god the Airai believe in is said to awe, a being who has the technique of flying between the stars, and is a different dimensional life form from a high dimensional intelligent life form like the Chousin. (The Airai are completely aware of their existence. How is unknown.) Though this can be considered a scientific explanation of Earth's God it is considered to be unrelated.  
It was natural that the people of Airai took an adverse position to Jurai's religion of Royal Tree worship and called them heretics. Yosho and his wife Airi met during times when the two worlds were in very bad relations with one another, so much almost all communications were almost non-existent between the two nations for a time.   



End file.
